From the prior art it is known to prevent a direct contact between the liquid injection means of a beverage preparation machine, for example designed as a needle or a connector, and the beverage or nutritional ingredients contained in a capsule.
For example, WO 2010/112353 A1 discloses a capsule for use in a beverage production device. The capsule comprises a filter for filtering a liquid injected into the capsule, a collection member placed downstream of the filter to collect the filtered liquid, and at least one restriction orifice in the collection member, in order to focus the flow of the liquid in at least one jet of liquid at high velocity into a compartment of the capsule, in which beverage ingredients are contained.
WO 2010/128028 A1 discloses a capsule for the preparation of a nutritional product for use in a device that is adapted to supply a liquid to the capsule. The capsule comprises a filter for removing contaminants contained in the injected liquid. After passing through the filter, the liquid is supplied to at least one compartment containing beverage ingredients. The capsule further comprises a selectively openable gas inlet, which is placed on or in the capsule to allow gas introduction from the outside into the ingredients compartment without passing through the filter.
WO 2010/128031 A1 discloses a capsule for the preparation of a nutritional product for use in a device that is adapted to inject a liquid to the capsule. The capsule comprises a compartment, which houses a filter for removing contaminants contained in the injected liquid. The capsule further comprises a compartment for beverage ingredients. The filter has a filtering surface, which is smaller than the cross-section of the mouth of the ingredient compartment.
WO 2010/128051 A1 discloses a capsule for the preparation of a nutritional product in a device that is adapted to supply a liquid into the capsule. The capsule comprises a filter unit, which comprises a filter membrane and an outlet wall for supporting the filter membrane. The outlet wall of the filter unit comprises at least one liquid outlet that communicates with a compartment of the capsule, in which beverage ingredients are contained.
None of the known prior art mentioned above takes into account that depending on the type of beverage and/or nutritional ingredients contained in a capsule, the injection of the liquid needs to be carried out differently, in order to properly dissolve different types of ingredients. For example, for some beverage ingredients in a capsule, a directed jet of liquid is optimal for dissolving, whereas for other beverage ingredients in a capsule, a spraying of the liquid onto the ingredients is optimal for dissolving.
Thus, there is a need for injection means that are designed to achieve a proper dissolution of ingredients in a capsule. In particular, there is a need for a capsule that provides a sufficiently flexible and versatile solution for different beverage and/or nutritional products.
Further, there is a need for a filtering function in the capsule for removing contaminants from the liquid, which is safe, simple and economical to implement industrially.
The prior art capsules have the further disadvantage that they encompass too many pieces, and are thus costly to produce. The prior art capsules also require time consuming and complex assembling operations to ensure the proper fluid flow path through the capsule. Consequently, there is a need to reduce the number of pieces, facilitate the assembling and reduce the manufacturing costs of a capsule.